The semicolon is used to separate those parts of a compound sentence, which are neither so closely connected as those which are distinguished by the comma, nor so little dependent as those which require the colon.

When two or more complex members, or such clauses as require the comma in themselves, are constructed into a period, they are generally separated by the semicolon: as,

"In the regions inhabited by angelic natures, unmingled felicity forever blooms; joy flows there with a perpetual and abundant stream, nor needs any mound to check its course."—Carter.

"When the voice rises, the gesture naturally ascends; and when the voice makes the falling inflection, or lowers its pitch, the gesture follows it by a corresponding descent; and, in the level and monotonous pronunciation of the voice, the gesture seems to observe a similar limitation, by moving rather in the horizontal direction, without much varying its elevation."—Comstock's Elocution, p. 107.

"The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me; but shadows, clouds, and darkness, rest upon it."—Addison.

When two or more simple members, or such clauses as complete their sense without subdivision, are constructed into a period; if they require a pause greater than that of the comma, they are usually separated by the semicolon: as,

"Straws swim on the surface; but pearls lie at the bottom."—Murray's Gram., p. 276.

"Alexander asked them the distance of the Persian capital; what forces the king of Persia could bring into the field; what the Persian government was; what was the character of the king; how he treated his enemies; what were the most direct ways into Persia."—Whelpley's Lectures, p. 175.

"This rule forbids parents to lie to children, and children to parents; instructors to pupils, and pupils to instructors; the old to the young, and the young to the old; attorneys to jurors, and jurors to attorneys; buyers to sellers, and sellers to buyers."—Wayland's Moral Science, p. 304.

The colon is used to separate those parts of a compound sentence, which are neither so closely connected as those which are distinguished by the semicolon, nor so little dependent as those which require the period.

When the semicolon has been introduced, or when it must be used in a subsequent member, and a still greater pause is required within the period, the colon should be employed: as,

"Princes have courtiers, and merchants have partners; the voluptuous have companions, and the wicked have accomplices: none but the virtuous can have friends."

"Unless the truth of our religion be granted, a christian must be the greatest monster in nature: he must at the same time be eminently wise, and notoriously foolish; a wise man in his practice, and a fool in his belief: his reasoning powers must be deranged by a constant delirium, while his conduct never swerves from the path of propriety."—Principles of Eloquence, p. 80

"A decent competence we fully taste; it strikes our sense, and gives a constant feast: more we perceive by dint of thought alone; the rich must labour to possess their own."—Young.

The dash is mostly used to denote an unexpected or emphatic pause, of variable length; but sometimes it is a sign of faltering, or of the irregular stops of one who hesitates in speaking: as,

"Then, after many pauses, and inarticulate sounds, he said: 'He was very sorry for it, was extremely concerned it should happen so—but—a—it was necessary—a—' Here lord E— stopped him short, and bluntly demanded, if his post were destined for another."—Churchill's Gram., p. 170.

The curves do not supersede other stops; and, as the parenthesis terminates with a pause equal to that which precedes it, the same point should be included, except when the sentences differ in form: as,

"Now for a recompense in the same, (I speak as to my children,) be you also enlarged."—2 Cor., vi, 13.

"Man's thirst of happiness declares it is: (for nature never gravitates to nought:) that thirst unquenched, declares it is not here."—Young.

The hyphen connects the parts of many compound words, especially such as have two accents: as, ever-living. It is also frequently inserted where a word is divided into syllables: as, con-tem-plate. Placed at the end of a line, it shows that one or more syllables of a word are can led forward to the next line.